


oh there's a very pleasant side to you, a side i much prefer

by rosekatxo



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Mother's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 12:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13951353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosekatxo/pseuds/rosekatxo
Summary: Vanessa gets a surprise on Mother's Day





	oh there's a very pleasant side to you, a side i much prefer

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing these characters so I hope it's okay! This idea has been playing on my mind all weekend so I thought I'd give it a go

Vanessa yawned as she turned over onto her side, body automatically seeking the warmth of her girlfriend in her half-asleep state. Instead of being welcomed with early morning cuddles, however, the blonde was met with the coldness of an empty bed. A disappointed frown graced her features as she blinked sleepily, remembering what day it was. _Mother’s Day_.

Charity had decided to stay at the pub the previous night, wanting to wake up in the same house as her boys and spend the morning together as a family. Vanessa hadn’t minded – Johnny was too young to realise the significance of the day so for her as a single mother it was just another Sunday, and of course little Moses was clueless too. But Noah was definitely old enough to understand the occasion and she hadn’t wanted to get in the way of that. Charity and her eldest son didn’t exactly have the best relationship, but they’d both been working on it lately and Vanessa knew her girlfriend was desperate to make up for lost time. She deserved to be appreciated for her efforts and to spend some time alone with her kids, especially on a day like today.

So it had been agreed - they’d spend the weekend with their respective families. Only it was the first night they’d spent apart in four days, and Vanessa had found herself tossing and turning all night without Charity beside her. Since they’d decided to make it official, she’d finally let herself get used to having the other woman around and without her here something felt… wrong. It had been almost 2am before Vanessa had managed to fall asleep without her girlfriend’s arm around her waist and gentle breath upon her neck, and she hoped she wouldn’t have to do the same for much longer.

The vet dragged a hand through her messy hair and sighed. She was falling hard and fast for Charity Dingle, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. _Get a grip, Vanessa_ , she admonished herself as she hauled herself out of bed. _It’s only one day. If you can’t last that long without seeing her then you’ve got a problem._

Shrugging on her dressing gown, she headed for the stairs. A cup of coffee and snuggles with her little boy would take her mind off things; despite the date, she had no plans for the two of them besides spending some much needed quality time together after a busy few weeks.

As she neared the landing, Vanessa heard murmurs coming from the kitchen. For a second she panicked, wondering who could have possibly got into her house without her knowing, but the sound of a quiet female voice followed by her son’s laughter set her mind at ease. Tracy must have come to see them and used the spare key – maybe she’d got Johnny up herself to allow her sister a rare lie-in for Mother’s Day. Smiling at the thought, she made her way down to the kitchen, but as she moved closer her eyes fell upon the last sight she’d expected to see, causing a lump to rise in her throat.

Because there was her girlfriend, sat at the kitchen table clutching a cup of tea and bouncing Johnny on her lap, looking like she belonged there. The two were giggling about something, their heads bent low and so close together that it made Vanessa’s heart soar.

“Charity?”

The barmaid jumped almost comically, one hand clutching her heart as the other unconsciously snaked tighter around the little boy’s waist.

“Jesus, Ness, don’t sneak up on me like that! You scared me half to death,” the barmaid admonished, fixing her with a mock glare as Johnny turned to the sound of his mother’s voice.

“Er, shouldn’t it be me saying that to you? You’re the one who basically broke into my house. I thought there was an intruder,” Vanessa frowned.

“Chill out, buttercup, I used the spare key,” Charity rolled her eyes. At Vanessa’s raised eyebrows, she scoffed. “What? It doesn’t take a genius to realise you hide it under the plantpot by the door. Honestly, you’re so predictable.”

Vanessa laughed. Of course Charity knew her well enough to know where she kept the spare key. She only wondered why the blonde had felt the need to use it in the first place. Then another thought popped into her head – _wouldn’t it be easier if she just had her own key?_ She quickly pushed that out of her mind, deciding there wasn’t time to dwell on that just yet.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here? I thought you were spending the morning with Moses and Noah? And why is my child down here with you?” she questioned. The smaller blonde reached down and plucked Johnny from her girlfriend’s lap, planting a kiss on the side of Charity’s head before setting her son in the highchair and moving to make herself a coffee. Noticing a fresh cup had already been poured for her, Vanessa took a sip and turned back to face the other woman with a curious smile, surprised to see the bolshiness Charity had displayed just a moment ago replaced by an almost bashful expression.

“Well, Noah hasn’t emerged from his pit yet and I’ve been up with Moses for hours, so I thought I’d escape for five minutes and come see you. I was gonna just wait down here but I heard Johnny start to wake up, so I went to check on him. I popped my head in and you were well gone, so I thought I’d bring him down with me and let you sleep a bit longer. I, er, hope that’s okay.” As she finished rambling – something she always did when uncharacteristically nervous – Charity’s gaze fell to the floor, suddenly worried that her girlfriend would think she’d overstepped the line.

“Yeah, yeah, course it is!” Vanessa pulled a face, wondering why on earth Charity would think otherwise. “I’m hardly gonna complain, am I? I got an extra half hour’s kip thanks to you,” she joked. Charity met her eyes quickly, shoulders visibly sagging with relief.

“Oh, good,” she grinned, her usual confidence returning. “’Cause we’ve had a fun morning, haven’t we mate?” She tickled Johnny’s sides, making him squeal with laughter.

Vanessa couldn’t help the warmth that spread across her chest as she watched. Seeing her girlfriend and son interact was so special – the two had been enamoured with each other from day one, and it made her so happy to see Charity let her guard down around him.

“Looks like it!” Vanessa grinned, sipping her coffee. “I still don’t really get it, though. Why are you here and not at home?”

Charity blinked, looking strangely unsure of herself; a sight that made Vanessa uneasy in turn.

“Charity?” the vet repeated, her tone tinged with frustration at the lack of answers.

Slowly, the barmaid reached into her bag and pulled out what looked to Vanessa like a piece of paper. Taking a deep breath, Charity moved to her girlfriend’s side and held out an envelope tentatively.

“Happy Mother’s Day, V.”

Vanessa’s breath caught in her throat as her hands enclosed around Charity’s, clasping them tightly for a few seconds before moving to grasp the card. Her fingers delicately traced the word “Mummy” written carefully across the front, her girlfriend’s unmistakeable swirl blurring before her as tears pooled in her eyes.

“Charity, I-” Vanessa tried to speak, but an anxious-looking Charity interrupted. “Just open it, will you?” she replied impatiently, eyes darting everywhere but at her girlfriend, as though she was afraid to look at her for too long, afraid of her reaction.

With trembling hands, Vanessa tore at the envelope. The card was a generic cute-puppy-with-flowers type – so un-Charity she had to stifle a laugh at the thought of the taller woman shopping for it – and the message inside it simple, but the sentiment behind it meant more than she could ever express.

_Dear Mummy,_

_Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for being the best Mummy in the world!_

_Love from Johnny xxx_

Her son’s childish scrawl joined Charity’s at the bottom, making Vanessa’s heart swell more than she thought was physically possible. Looking up through glassy eyes, she saw her girlfriend’s insecurity written all over her face.

“Look, I don’t know if it was my place, but with your dad being away and all this business with Tracy I wasn’t sure if anyone would remember to get you anything, and you deserve to feel appreciated for everything you do for that kid. Johnny adores you but he’s too young to realise just how incredible you are, but I see it. Watching you with him makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, and it makes me want to be a better mum to my own kids. You make me want to be a better _person_. But you have no idea how amazing you are, and I just-”

Charity was cut off mid-rant by her girlfriend’s lips urgently meeting her own, Vanessa’s gratitude mingling with an overwhelming surge of love for the taller blonde. Her hands found their way into Vanessa's hair, holding her tightly in the embrace. The intensity of the moment wasn’t lost on either of them, weighted with unspoken words that no longer needed saying.

Vanessa pulled away as a small chuckle came from behind them. The pair turned to see Johnny grinning happily up at the pair, brandishing a slice of toast in his pudgy fist. Chuckling, her eyes found Charity’s once more as she intertwined their hands, her own emotions reflected in her girlfriend’s eyes that so often betrayed the depth of her feelings.

“Thank you,” Vanessa whispered, not trusting herself to speak properly. “This is… by _far_ the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

Charity straightened up, trying to pull herself together as she pulled a face, causing Johnny to squeal with laughter once more. “Nice? _Me?_ As if.”

She rolled her eyes as Vanessa continued to sniffle, the beaming smile plastered across the smaller blonde’s face showing how much the gesture had affected her.

“Come here, you soppy mare,” Charity pulled her closer, mussing up the vet’s hair affectionately.

“I just can’t believe you’d do this for me,” Vanessa murmured into her chest. “Nobody’s ever cared that much before.” Charity squeezed her shoulders.

“Well guess what babe, I do,” she spoke determinedly, dropping a kiss onto Vanessa’s forehead in a rare moment of openness. “I know I’m not always good at showing it, but I really do. You’re amazing, V, and every day I wonder how I managed to find someone like you.”

“Charity Dingle, you big softie,” Vanessa teased, lifting her head to look up at the barmaid. “Who knew underneath that cold-hearted bitch act you’re just a teddy bear?”

“Oi, don’t push it babe. I still have a reputation to uphold, you know.” Charity retorted, causing Vanessa to scoff and snuggle in closer. If someone had told her a year ago – hell, even a few months ago – that Charity Dingle would be buying her a Mother’s Day card, she’d have laughed in their face. But somehow, it felt _right_.

For once in her life, she had someone who loved her. Someone who made her happy, who treated her well, and accepted her for who she was. And that – well, _that_ was the best present she could ever ask for.


End file.
